[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19354-19356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05699]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2024-0020]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for 
Commercial Wind Lease Issuance, Site Characterization Activities, and 
Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf in 
the Gulf of Maine Offshore the States of Maine, New Hampshire, and the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) intends to 
prepare an environmental assessment (EA) to consider the potential 
environmental impacts associated with possible wind energy-related 
leasing, site characterization activities, and site assessment 
activities on the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the 
Gulf of Maine offshore the States of Maine and New Hampshire and the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. BOEM is seeking public input regarding 
important environmental issues and the identification of reasonable 
alternatives that should be considered in the EA. The environmental 
impacts of any proposed wind energy projects will be assessed after a 
lease is issued and before BOEM decides whether or not to approve any 
lessee's project construction and operations plan.

DATES: BOEM must receive your comments no later than April 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to 
https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-2024-0020 to 
submit public comments and view supporting and related materials 
available for this notice. Click on the ``Comment'' button below the 
document link. Enter your information and comment, then click ``Submit 
Comment''; or
     By U.S. Postal Service or other delivery service: Send 
your comments and information to the following address: Bureau of Ocean 
Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland 
Road, Mail Stop VAM-OREP, Sterling, VA 20166.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandi Sangunett, BOEM, Environment 
Branch for Renewable Energy, 45600 Woodland Road, Mail Stop VAM-OREP, 
Sterling, VA 20166, (703) 787-1015 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: On October 19, 2023, BOEM announced a draft wind energy 
area (WEA) on the U.S. Gulf of Maine OCS for public review and comment. 
The Draft WEA is in the Gulf of Maine offshore the States of Maine and 
New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, covering 
approximately 3.5 million acres. Before finalizing the WEA, BOEM 
considered feedback from government partners, federally recognized 
Tribes, ocean users, and other stakeholders. Concurrently with this 
NOI, BOEM is announcing the final wind energy area (Final WEA) in the 
Gulf of Maine, covering approximately 2 million acres. Detailed 
information about the WEA can be found on BOEM's website at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/maine/gulf-maine.

Proposed Action and Scope of Analysis

    The EA's proposed action is issuing wind energy leases in the Gulf 
of Maine WEA. The EA will consider project easements and grants for 
subsea cable corridors associated with leasing. The EA also will 
consider the potential environmental impacts associated with

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site characterization activities (i.e., biological, archaeological, 
geological, and geophysical surveys and core samples) and site 
assessment activities (i.e., installation of meteorological buoys) that 
are expected to take place following lease issuance. The EA's proposed 
action does not include the installation of meteorological towers 
because developers prefer meteorological buoys to collect data. In 
addition to the no-action alternative, other alternatives may be 
considered, such as exclusion of certain areas.
    BOEM has decided to prepare an EA for this proposed action in order 
to assist agency planning and decision-making (40 CFR 1501.3). This 
notice starts the scoping process for the EA and solicits information 
regarding important environmental issues and alternatives that should 
be considered in the EA (43 CFR 46.305). Additionally, BOEM will use 
the scoping process to identify and eliminate from detailed analysis 
issues that are not significant or that have been analyzed by prior 
environmental reviews (40 CFR 1501.9(f)(1)).
    BOEM will use responses to this notice and the EA public input 
process to satisfy the public involvement requirements of the National 
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
Specific to NHPA, BOEM seeks information from the public on the 
identification and assessment of potential impacts to cultural 
resources and historic properties that might be impacted by possible 
wind energy-related leasing, site characterization, and site assessment 
activities in the WEA.
    The EA analyses will also support compliance with other 
environmental statutes (e.g., Coastal Zone Management Act, Endangered 
Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 
and Marine Mammal Protection Act).
    Wind energy leases do not authorize any activities on the OCS. 
Instead, leases grant lessees the exclusive right to submit plans for 
BOEM's consideration and approval. Prior to deciding whether to approve 
any plan for the construction and operation of commercial wind energy 
facilities, BOEM will prepare a plan-specific environmental analysis 
and will comply with all consultation requirements. Therefore, this EA 
will not consider the construction and operation of any commercial wind 
energy facilities in the Final WEA.
    Cooperating Agencies: BOEM invites Tribal governments and Federal, 
State, and local government agencies to consider becoming cooperating 
agencies in the preparation of this EA. Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the procedural provisions of 
NEPA define cooperating agencies as those with ``jurisdiction by law or 
special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved in 
a proposal (or a reasonable alternative)'' (40 CFR 1508.1(e)). 
Potential cooperating agencies should consider their authority and 
capacity to assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency. An 
agency's role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges nor 
diminishes the final decision-making authority of any other agency 
involved in the NEPA process.
    Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating Tribal 
governments and agencies with a draft memorandum of agreement that 
includes a schedule with critical action dates and milestones, mutual 
responsibilities, designated points of contact, and expectations for 
handling pre-decisional information. Agencies should also consider the 
``Factors for Determining Whether to Invite, Decline or End Cooperating 
Agency Status'' in CEQ's memo ``Cooperating Agencies in Implementing 
the Procedural Requirements of [NEPA]'' dated January 30, 2002. A copy 
of this document is available at: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/G-CEQ-CoopAgenciesImplem.pdf.
    BOEM, as the lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to 
cooperating agencies. Even if an organization is not a cooperating 
agency, opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to 
BOEM during the normal public input phases of the NEPA process.
    Comments: Federal agencies; Tribal, State, and local governments; 
and other interested parties are requested to comment on the important 
issues to be considered in the EA. For information on how to submit 
comments and the deadline, see the DATES and ADDRESSES sections above.

Information on Submitting Comments

a. Privileged and Confidential Information
    BOEM will protect privileged and confidential information in your 
comment under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Exemption 4 of 
FOIA applies to trade secrets and commercial and financial information 
that is privileged or confidential. If you wish to protect the 
confidentiality of such information, clearly label it and request that 
BOEM treat it as confidential. BOEM will not disclose such information 
if BOEM determines under 30 CFR 585.114(b) that it qualifies for 
exemption from disclosure under FOIA. Please label privileged or 
confidential information ``Contains Confidential Information'' and 
consider submitting such information as a separate attachment.
    BOEM will not treat as confidential any aggregate summaries of such 
information or comments not containing such privileged or confidential 
information. Information that is not labeled as privileged or 
confidential may be regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.
b. Personally Identifiable Information
    BOEM discourages anonymous comments. Please include your name and 
address as part of your comment. You should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your name, address, and any personally identifiable 
information (PII) included in your comment, may be made publicly 
available. All submissions from identified individuals, businesses, and 
organizations will be available for public viewing on regulations.gov. 
Except for clearly identified privileged and confidential information, 
BOEM will make available for public inspection all comments, in their 
entirety, submitted by organizations and businesses, or by individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives of organizations or 
businesses.
    For BOEM to consider withholding your PII from disclosure, you must 
identify any information contained in your comments that, if released, 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of your personal 
privacy. You must also briefly describe any possible harmful 
consequences of the disclosure of information, such as embarrassment, 
injury, or other harm. Even if BOEM withholds your information in the 
context of this notice, your submission is subject to FOIA. If your 
submission is requested under FOIA, your information will only be 
withheld if a determination is made that one of the FOIA's exemptions 
to disclosure applies. Such a determination will be made in accordance 
with the Department's FOIA regulations and applicable law.
c. Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 
307103(a))
    After consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, BOEM is 
required to withhold the location, character, or ownership of historic 
resources if it determines that disclosure may, among other things, 
cause a significant invasion of privacy, risk harm to the historic 
resources, or impede the use of

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a traditional religious site by practitioners. Tribal entities and 
other parties providing information on historic resources should 
designate information that they wish to be held as confidential and 
provide the reasons why BOEM should do so.
    Authority: This notice of intent to prepare an EA is published 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq., 40 CFR part 1500, and 43 CFR 46.305.

Karen Baker,
Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-05699 Filed 3-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P